SAN DIEGO – San Diego opened its 2019 spring season with a convincing 5-2 victory against Utah State on Saturday afternoon at the Hogan Tennis Center.
 
The Toreros (1-0) won the doubles point and the first three singles matches to quickly secure the decision. The remaining matches played out and USD picked up an additional point with David Norfeldt earning a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, victory at the No. 5 spot.
 
"We knew today was going to be a tough test for our boys," said head coach Ryan Keckley. "We have had battles with Utah State for the past three years and today was exactly what we expected. [Utah State head coach] James Wilson does an incredible job teaching his team how to fight and bring energy to every match."
 
The Toreros got off to a quality start in doubles play with Guus Koevermans and David Norfeldt taking down Utah State's (0-1) Duro Opacic and Felipe Acosta on court three, 6-2.
 
Nico Borter and Gui Osorio clinched the point with a 6-4 decision against Rithvik Bollipalli and Sergiu Bucur.
 
"It was the first match of the year so we expected some nerves heading into today's contest," said Keckley. "We talked a lot about staying true to our doubles identity, which I thought we did very well today.  We played physical tennis which gave us the opportunities we needed to clinch the point."

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Joel Gamerov cruised to a quick 6-2, 6-3, result at No. 4 against Felipe Acosta to put the Toreros up, 2-0.
 
Osorio finished shortly after with a 6-2, 6-3, decision against Bucur in the No. 2 position. Holmgren sealed the victory with a 6-4, 7-6, decision in the No. 1 position against Isaac Arturo Arevalo.
 
"In singles, we had some solid performances," said Keckley. "We were extremely pleased with our energy and competitiveness overall. We will look to sharpen up our fundamentals this week as we head into the weekend with our eyes looking toward a very good Ole Miss squad."
 
The Toreros head to UCLA next weekend for a pair of matches. USD begins play Friday at 11 a.m. against Ole Miss and will take on either UCLA or Indiana on Saturday with the matchup based on Friday's results.